After soaring to the top of the Democratic mayoral primary field in some polls earlier this summer, former Representative Anthony D. Weiner is now struggling, and viewed as a long shot to make it to a runoff. But one asset he still has is a robust campaign war chest, so this week, he released three more television commercials. Perhaps the most notable one is “Choices,†because it represents the first time he has deployed surrogates â€" not himself â€" to make his campaign pitch.
These are personal testimonials from people who say they support Mr. Weiner, and their comments are mostly not statements of fact. However, it is not correct to say that none of the other candidates talk about the middle class â€" in fact, several of the candidates talk about that segment of the population frequently.
Within hours of the ad’s release, The Daily News reported that two of the people shown supporting Mr. Weiner have worked, or are now working, for Mr. Weiner as interns. But the bet in Mr. Weiner’s camp is that New Yorkers who catch this ad (or its Spanish-language companion, “Mejorâ€) will not care, or even know, about how the ad was made, and instead be struck by how ordinary-looking New Yorkers are actually saying nice things, for a change, about Mr. Weiner. The testimonials also represent the most direct attempt by Mr. Weiner to confront his sexually explicit text-messaging exploits in an ad, by enlisting New Yorkers to say that they like him and admire his work. The upbeat and scrappy ads could set Mr. Weiner apart from his rivals, who are now attacking each other relentlessly.
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